Dogs N Suds - Obedience Training Class at Pet Club in Mountain View
I went to Cody's obedience class yesterday (humans only at the first session). I was fairly disappointed. On one hand, the lesson confirmed that I was on the right path in training Cody. On the other hand, everything we discussed I had already read in the many books I checked out when I prepped for taking care of Cody.
There was a variety of ages in the class and outdoor and indoor dogs. It was hard to specialize and give exact advice to the varied audience. We discussed barking (which would have been helpful 3 weeks ago, but after the Citronella collar, Cody's perfect), house training (Cody has been perfect at home for 7 days now), and feeding (I am taking the advice of the breeder and free-feeding Cody. It doesn't really change the potty training since Cody poos and pees hours after he drinks and eats so I scheduling his feeding time doesn't really help me with the house training, which he's mastered anyways).
It's only $100 and I might learn something in the next 5 sessions, hopefully. If not, then at least I know I wasn't missing anything. Our homework was to think of a "release" command to let the dog know when to stop working (for example, when he's sitting or staying, to let him know when to stop sitting or staying). I used "OK" originally, which the instructor discouraged because "OK" is used to frequently in our regular conversations. I don't think it will be that big of a deal because I think Cody is smart enough to figure out what I want. But I think I'll try using "Off the Hook" now. The command has more personality anyways.
Commands-wise, I'm still working on "roll over", "stand", and "leave it". I'm trying to concentrate on "leave it" since it's more "useful" than the other commands.
We also went to the vet today to check up on his bacterial infection (completely cured) and his third set of shots. We also bought heartworm and ticks/fleas medication which was quite expensive (the whole meds + office trip was about $260). They also recommended that he get neutered sooner rather than later so it's not as traumatic. I'll worry about that after he finishes his series of shots (one more set to go!)
I went to Cody's obedience class yesterday (humans only at the first session). I was fairly disappointed. On one hand, the lesson confirmed that I was on the right path in training Cody. On the other hand, everything we discussed I had already read in the many books I checked out when I prepped for taking care of Cody.
There was a variety of ages in the class and outdoor and indoor dogs. It was hard to specialize and give exact advice to the varied audience. We discussed barking (which would have been helpful 3 weeks ago, but after the Citronella collar, Cody's perfect), house training (Cody has been perfect at home for 7 days now), and feeding (I am taking the advice of the breeder and free-feeding Cody. It doesn't really change the potty training since Cody poos and pees hours after he drinks and eats so I scheduling his feeding time doesn't really help me with the house training, which he's mastered anyways).
It's only $100 and I might learn something in the next 5 sessions, hopefully. If not, then at least I know I wasn't missing anything. Our homework was to think of a "release" command to let the dog know when to stop working (for example, when he's sitting or staying, to let him know when to stop sitting or staying). I used "OK" originally, which the instructor discouraged because "OK" is used to frequently in our regular conversations. I don't think it will be that big of a deal because I think Cody is smart enough to figure out what I want. But I think I'll try using "Off the Hook" now. The command has more personality anyways.
Commands-wise, I'm still working on "roll over", "stand", and "leave it". I'm trying to concentrate on "leave it" since it's more "useful" than the other commands.
We also went to the vet today to check up on his bacterial infection (completely cured) and his third set of shots. We also bought heartworm and ticks/fleas medication which was quite expensive (the whole meds + office trip was about $260). They also recommended that he get neutered sooner rather than later so it's not as traumatic. I'll worry about that after he finishes his series of shots (one more set to go!)
posted by Phoebe @ 10:14 AM
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